Florida Sen. LeMieux sworn in

George LeMieux was officially installed Thursday as Florida’s second
senator and the Senate’s fifth appointee this year, indicating a
newness and flexibility to the issue of healthcare reform.

LeMieux, Gov. Charlie Crist’s former chief of staff and top 2006 campaign aide, was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden twice, once in the Senate chamber and again for photographers in the Old Senate Chamber. A former deputy attorney general and failed 1998 state House candidate, LeMieux was appointed by Crist to replace retired Republican Mel Martinez.

{mosads}Crist has announced he plans to run in 2010 for the seat, and LeMieux reiterated to reporters Thursday that he has no designs on the seat himself. Crist faces former state House Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican primary for the seat.

Asked his views on healthcare, LeMieux said he attended President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night and saluted ideas such as the creation of insurance exchanges, in which insurers compete to offer coverage.

“We have to be for improving healthcare in this country — we certainly want to have more access and we have to work on affordability, because healthcare is very expensive,” he said. “It’s putting a strain on our people. It’s putting a strain on our businesses.”

LeMieux said he was skeptical that any healthcare bill could be deficit-neutral, and said he was concerned about the overall cost. But he said he is undecided on whether he would support the component of a public option in any healthcare bill.

“I really need to learn and listen more, and I’m going to spend the next week or two trying to immerse myself in healthcare issues … I don’t have a firm position yet because I just got sworn in. So we’re going to wait, listen and learn.”

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to meet with LeMieux to determine his committee assignments. Martinez was on the Armed Services and Commerce committees, which LeMieux said he also preferred. He also signaled that as a fiscal conservative, he would like a seat on a financial committee.

LeMieux and Crist have a friendship that stretches back roughly 15 years, to Crist’s early days in Tallahassee as a state senator from St. Petersburg, which led to charges of cronyism after Crist bypassed other, more well-known candidates.

LeMieux was accompanied Thursday by his wife, Meike, and sons Max, Taylor and Chase. At 40 years old, he is the Senate’s youngest member.

He also represents the Senate’s fifth appointed member of the year, after Sens. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).

The record for the most appointed members was the 79th Congress, which had 13 appointed members in 1945-46.